Wheel



March 18 1924.

1,487,552 W- F- FRANZ WHEEL Filed Jan. 25 1922 Planned Mu; is, i924.k

UNiTso srmssv WALTER F. FRANZ, F UIICA, NEW YORK.

application and January as, 1922. serial m. 531,594.

To all whom it may concerm, Y Be it known that WALTER F. FRANZ, citi- Y zen of the United States, residing at Utica,

in the county of Oneida and State of New York, hasinvefnted certain new and useful Improvements in Wheels, of which the following is a specification. r

M invention relates to wheels and one of tide ob'ects is to provide a construction adal ted or use as a caster, truck wheel or t e like.

Another object is to rovide a tire for. use with such'wheel whic will be practically noiseless in use and which will not leave a mark or streak on the surface over which it rolls. v

A. further object is to provide a construction of side plates which will securely hold the tire in position and will not permit it to work loose with use.

A still further object relates to the method of assemblin the parts of the wheel so that the metal ates and tire will be securely held in position.

With these general objects in view, myinvention consists in certain novel and culiar features' of construction and com ination of parts as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood; reference is to be had tothe accompanying 'drawing in Which- Fig. l is a side view of a com leted wheel' Fig. 2 -is a section on the ine 2-2 oi Fig. 1;

ig. 3 is a section of a tire molded into shape preparatory to being applied to the wheel; an I Fi 4 is a section of a side plate. Re eri-ing to the drawing, 1 is a formed metal disc late which will retain its contour after it has been shaped or bent intoy ing surface foithe underside of the tire. The tire engaging portion 3 is curved in wardly at its outer edge 5 in order that it may securely bite into the tire when the Wheel is assembled. To urnish a suitable rotary bearing for. the Wheel, I provide a metal bushing 6 which in the recess of assembling the wheel and tire is formed with retaining flanges 7. This structure thereby not only provides a bearing but in addition securely holds together the side plates and tire.

Any tire of suitable material may be used, but I prefer a solid felt tire. Thisxtire is ont from a sheet of compressed wool felt composed of pure wool, unsized and fulled. Various thicknesses of sheets may be used depending on the desired width of tire.

Inasmuch as the -fihres in the sheet of felt lie in the same plane as the piane of the sheet,due to its process of manufacture, in cuttin `out an annulus .from such a sheet, it wil be seentliat the fibers will lay in a plane normal to the surface of the tread. In this manner, theY wearing qualities of the tire are increased. n v

In my tire, no sizing material is nsed in the felt. The objection to the customary sizing materials is that they cause deterioration of the felt, and in use, suoli a tire will leave a grease mark dueto the oozing out of the sizing material.V Inasmuch as the sizing material is used for holding the felt informed position, the 'omission thereof necessitates a different preliminary treatment in shaping the tire.

In forming a felt tire, I take a rin shaped piece of felt out from a sheet of elt, and of the proper size in circumference and width, so that when it is placed into-forming molds or diesandsubjected to ,very heavy pressure so as to uniformi compress the felt, a tire ofthe desired s a e, such as shown in Fig. 3 is produced. en so molded, the tire is of equal density throughlsfither. I n. felt tire made according to my invention has the libres of the elt extending outwardly on the tread surface and being compressed uniformi throu hout, rovides thereby a hard dura le trea Whic under use will harden still further due to further compression of the sustained load. eWhen the wheel is rotated, the friction reduced by the tread gripping the floor, sti `further hardens the tire, so that the actual "weer upon the tread is negligible. l

Instead of using a single unitary section of felt, I may use a plurality of sections to form the annulus, either radial or circumferential sections by molding them together under pressure, in the same manner as the single piece.

ont, and is nearly as hard as a piece of sole shape-as the Instead of usin felt, I may employ what is known as D. Egyptian fibre, made by a vulcanizing process and usin linen fibres under very high pressure. 's material can be molded into tires to take the same felt tire. p This vulcanized fibre has a tensile lstrength of 13,000 lbs. per sq. inch and a crushin strength of 43,000 lbs. A tire constructe of this material is especially desirable for -parcel and similar trucks such as are used in department stores, and also where a wheel is needed that will withstand' the actionof oils, water etc. and still be silent on hard wood or concrete floors. Y Other materials may be used for tires such as leather, rubber, paper, wood, etc.

In assembling the wheel, theimolded tire 8 is placed between the metal side plates 2 and the parts forced together under pressure, and in the o ratlons which' follow, greater pressure is rought to bear on the side plates at thel oint 4, so that the said plates are further nt in at this point, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, to securely lock theY molded tire between the lates, the edges 5 anchorin themselves in til tire. In a whee constructed inv this manner, no additional securing means, such as bolts connecting the plates, are necessary in order that the plates ma securely hold the tire in locked position. t is necssa however4 in such a structure, that'the p ates 2 be bent in suiciently close together at the point 4 to provide a cup or pocket; otherwise, tely will have a tendency to open out or spr apart under pressure, and thereby loosen the tire. When they are bent 1n a suilicient distance, it is found that the line of resultant pressure will be between theA angle portion 4 and the outer side of the plate, as along the line A-B, and thiswill tend to clamp the tire more securely in position by forcing the lates together. The greater the pressure t at is brou ht to bear on the tire tread, a greater hol ing power will be secured at the point 4 by reason of the fact thatV the pressure on the tire tread will force the tire mto the rim and cause the edges 5 of the metal plates to contract and hold the tire very securely. In a plate having the same general contour, if the plates are. so

, changes properly Y fallin e formed far apart that the line of resultant pressure does not fall as above indicated then the plates have aftendency to spread' apart rat er than to be forced together.`

. lVhen bent close together as shownz an adequete supporting surface is provided for nearly the whole underside ofthe tire.

From the above description it will be a parent that I have produced a device of e character enumerated as desirable, and vwhile I have illustrated and described the preferred form of thel invention, it will be understood that I reserve the right to all within the spirit and scope of the appen ed claims.l Y I claim: v l. A wheel having opposed side plates comprisingx body portions and tire engaging portions, t intermediate the said portions to provide a pocket for the tire located between the said tire engaging portions, the angle between the body portion and the tire engaging-portion of vthe plate being suchthat the prese said plates being bent inwardly.

sure of the` overlying load will force-the tire engaging portions of the plate toward each other to securely clamp the tire in position.

2. A wheel having opposed side plates comprisin body portions and tire engaging ortions, t e sald plates being bent inwardly intermediate the said portions to provide spaced supports for the underside of the tire vlocated between the said tire engaging ortions, fastening means for holdin the p ates and tire in assembled relations ip located gether the said plates with a tire interposed therebetween and further bending inwardly the said intermediate inwardly bent portions thereof. p

In testimony whereof I ailix my slignature. WALTER F. F ANZ.

lalong the axis of the wheel, the tire engag- 

